CU advances to 308th in world university rankings, Thailand told more research needed at universitie

It is the only Thai higher-educational institute to make it to the top half of the Centre for World University Rankings (CUWR) 2017 list, which came out yesterday and identified the world’s top 1,000 universities. 
In the latest list, the CU sits at the 308th spot – up from 320th a year earlier. 
Two other Thai universities on the CUWR 2017 list are Mahidol University (MU) and Chiang Mai University (CMU). 
MU has also risen up the list this year, placing 518th – up from 522nd last year. 
But CMU has fallen down the ranking, from 808th last year to 846th this year. 
“The performance of Thailand’s representatives in the top 1000 in 2017 is generally similar to last year,” said Dr Nadim Mahassen, president of the CUWR. “Further funding should be invested in research if the country aspires to increase its competitiveness on the global stage.” 
CUWR is the publisher of the largest academic ranking of global universities.
For the 2017 edition of the rankings, 27,770 degree-granting institutions of higher education worldwide were evaluated, among which the top 1000 research-intensive institutions received rankings based on eight objective indicators covering education, alumni employment, and research.
Leading the list is the prestigious Harvard University from the United States (US). Coming next are Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, both from the US as well.
But the fourth and the fifth ranked are from the United Kingdom. They are the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford respectively. 
This year, 61 countries – more than ever before – feature in the top 1000 list, which represents the top 3.7 per cent of degree-granting institutions of higher education globally.
“The US remains the dominant force in higher education worldwide, claiming the top three spots, eight of the top 10, and 54 of the top 100. It leads with 225 universities represented in the top 1000, followed by China (97), Japan (71), the UK (65), and Germany (57),” Mahassen said.
The best-performing Asian university on the list is the University of Tokyo, which ranks 13th.